English Translation

We were told — Abu Abd ar-Rahman said: I read this hadith to my father, and he found it and confirmed it, and he narrated part of it to us in another place. He said: Musa ibn Hilal al-Abdi told us, Hammam told us, from Ibn Sirin, from Anas ibn Malik, who said: Abu Talhah married Umm Sulaym, who was the mother of Anas and al-Bara'. She bore him a son, whom he loved dearly. The boy fell gravely ill, and Abu Talhah would rise for the dawn prayer, perform ablution, and go to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, praying with him, staying with him until near midday, then come back, take a midday nap, and eat. When he prayed the noon prayer, he would get ready and go out, not returning until the night prayer. One evening he went out and the boy died. Abu Talhah returned, and she had covered the boy with a cloth and set him aside. Abu Talhah said to her, "O Umm Sulaym, how did my little boy pass the night?" She said, "O Abu Talhah, your son has never been more at rest than tonight." Then she brought him food, and he ate, and he felt at ease. Then he went to his bed and laid down his head. She said: I got up and applied some perfume, then came and got into bed with him, and as soon as he caught the scent of the perfume, what happens between a man and his wife happened between them. Then in the morning Abu Talhah got ready as he did every day. She said to him, "O Abu Talhah, tell me — if some people entrusted you with a deposit, and you benefited from it, then they asked for it back and took it from you, would you be distressed by that?" He said, "No." She said, "Then your son has died." Anas said: He was deeply distressed by this, and he told the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, what had happened regarding the food, the perfume, and what had passed between them. The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, said, "Did you spend the night together like a newly married couple, with him beside you?" He said, "Yes, O Messenger of God." The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, said, "May God bless your night for the two of you." So Umm Sulaym conceived that very night, and she gave birth to a boy. When morning came, Abu Talhah said to me, "Carry him wrapped in a cloth until you bring him to the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, and take with you some ajwa dates." So I carried him wrapped in a cloth, and he had not yet had anything chewed for him, nor tasted any food or anything at all. I said, "O Messenger of God, Umm Sulaym has given birth." He said, "God is greatest! What did she bear?" I said, "A boy." He said, "Praise be to God." Then he said, "Bring him to me," so I handed him over, and the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, chewed a date and rubbed it in his mouth, then said to him, "Do you have ajwa dates with you?" I said, "Yes," and brought out some dates. The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, took a date and put it in his own mouth, and kept chewing it until it mixed with his saliva, then he put it in the boy's mouth. As soon as the boy tasted the sweetness of the dates, he began to suck at the sweetness of the dates and the saliva of the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him — so the first thing to open that boy's bowels was the saliva of the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him. Then the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, said, "The love of the Ansar is dates," and he named him Abdullah ibn Abi Talhah. He said: Many good men came from his descendants. He said: Abdullah was martyred in Persia.